The joint pins of the caterpillar tracks of overland vehicles are, in general, oil-lubricated and ordinarily connect individual track members which typically may be steel castings. The relative motion of the parts sliding on each other comprises a swinging motion with low peak velocities between extended interruptions. The greatest stresses on joint pin seals employed in caterpillar tracks result from the wear-related, considerable axial play of the individual track links which is related to stresses due to soils of greatly varying consistency.
Prior art caterpillar track joint pin seals are discussed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,336,086 and the references cited therein. The support ring of the joint pin seals is deformable throughout to compensate for the axial play. Prior art joint pin seals have the disadvantage that the position of the sealing lip can be shifted a considerable distance outward in the radial direction in the event of axial compression. The consequence of this shifting is increased wear and the penetration of dirt particles into the area of the seal. The process is further amplified by reduction of the compression forces due to the occurrence of relaxation phenomena. Prior art joint pin seals thus required replacement at short intervals.